Sanchez hit the deck one kilometre into today’s morning stage and was taken to hospital. Tests there have revealed that he sprained his acromioclavicular joint of his clavicle, but that there is no obvious sign of a fracture.

A further scan will be carried out to rule out any small crack.

Rather than his season being over, the Spaniard has now been told to take a week’s rest. Providing there are no more complications, he should be able to ramp things up after that.

Sanchez’s Tour injury took him out of the French race and also meant that he was forced to miss the defence of his Olympic title. He returned to racing at the recent Clasica San Sebastian determined to try to turn his season around, and will be greatly relieved that he still has a chance to get in shape for the worlds.

If he can follow his original schedule, he will resume racing on September 9th in the Tour of Britain, then ride the world road race championships, the Giro del Piemonte, Il Lombardia, the Tour of Beijing and the newest WorldTour event, the Tour de Hangzhou.